The present invention relates to electrical connectors and especially to an electrical connector for coupling to an insulated electrical conductor without stripping the end of the insulated electrical conductor.
In the past, a wide variety of electrical wire connectors have been provided for connecting to wire ends. In a typical connector, the end of the wire is stripped of insulation and the bare wire is inserted into a connector where it can be soldered or clamped or otherwise attached to the connector. It is also common to tin the wire ends by coating the wire end with solder and a wide variety of connectors have been provided which removably hold the wire to the connector.
Typical connectors are seen in audio systems, such as in hi-fi speakers in which a wire end is stripped of the insulation and is inserted in an opening and a threaded nut is threaded down onto the wire, the nut can be loosened for removing the wire. Other audio speakers include spring clamps which allows a wire end to be stripped of insulation and inserted into an opening while lifting the spring connector clamp and then releasing the spring connector clamp onto the wire. Relifting of the spring connector clamp allows the removal of the wire end. Other commonly used connectors allow a stripped wire end to be inserted into a connector or into both ends of a connector and then clamped with pliers to collapse a conductive sleeve onto the wire. This type of connector can be insulated or not as desired since it is made of a malleable metal in which the collapsing onto the stripped wire end provides the necessary electrical contact.
In contrast to these various types of wire connectors, the present invention deals with a wire connector that does not require the insulation to be stripped and also provides, in some embodiments, for the insertion of the insulated wire end in a manner to lock the wire end in place inside the bore of a wire connector.
Prior wire connectors can be seen in the following U.S. Patents. The Chang U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,333, for a wire connector having two concentric sockets adapted to be assembled one into the other and in which the inner socket has a conductive needle mounted therein for sliding a wire end into each end of the connector and which also uses a spike pressed in two holes in the sleeves to penetrate the coating of the wire ends. In the U.S. patent to Danner, U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,320, a dangler cathode cable assembly is connected to a ball-like cathode member by stripping the end portion of the cable and inserting the end portion into a sleeve which is pressed into an undersized tapered socket and which has a pointed pin therein. In the U.S. patent to Friedhelm, U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,760, a cable connector for piezoelectric cable has an insulated cable end which is inserted into a sleeve. In the U.S. patent to Burman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,233, an electrical connector and a method of connecting an electrical cable to the connector is provided for connecting one or more insulated electrical cords or cables together. The insulated cable ends can be inserted into the receptacles on either end and onto a prong of electrically conductive material so that the prong is an electrical contact with the wire of an insulated cord end. A container of adhesive material on the end of the receptacle is released from the container to create a physical bond between the cord and the connector to hold the cord within the connector.
The present invention utilizes an electrical connector for coupling to an insulated electrical conductor end which is inserted into a bore on a housing to drive a prong into the conductor end and which includes means for releasably clamping and holding the insulated wire end within the electrical connector.